Without some manuals, possibly a decently coded example or two, and/or some knowledgeable person to give you a hand, you have a formidable task ahead of you. To provide the interaction you need is going to take some learning, and I can't imagine picking enough of it up simply from the help screens on the mainframe.

FSP (for Full Screen Product) allows you to browse (using FSBrowse or FSList) or edit (FSEdit or FSList) SAS data sets in "full screen" mode, either one observation at a time (FSBrowse or FSEdit) or in tabular format (FSList) similar to the way you can use the ISPF editor to browse or edit a "normal" file. Originally no programming was allowed with these utilities - you could set attributes for various variables, or add constant text or rearrange the screen, but to do any real processing, you'd have to close the edit session, process in "batch" mode, and reopen an edit session to display the result.

Nowadays, you can attach SCL (for Screen Control Language) code to these utilities, which gives them a lot more versatility, but if you're going to do much more than add, change, or delete observations from a SAS data set, (and you are) there are better ways to go.

SCL allows you to build logic and rules into your display panels. There is a wealth of additional verbs and functions that make programming an interactive application much easier. For instance, your first step is to request a file name from the user - with SCL you could display a list of valid files and let the user choose one with a mouse click (depending on the release of ISPF and/or model of terminal and/or release of terminal emulator) or by use of cursor and tab keys followed by the ENTER key. Alternatively, you can let the user type in a file name and check that it exists before proceeding.

On platforms that support it, you can write GUI interfaces. In your case, working on a mainframe, chances are that using the GUI features aren't really available (SAS emulates this stuff with character based substitutes, but the look and feel isn't all that genuine.) I'd suggest using PROGRAM entries and SCL - from your description, most if not all of the interface would be point and click (minimizing the chance of user error).

But if you've never done this sort of thing before, and no one around has either, you're going to NEED some introductory manuals to get you acquainted with this stuff, and an SCL manual so that you can find all the functions, verbs, return codes, and techniques available.

It's a challenge learning this stuff on your own, but once you start to get the hang of it, it's a lot of fun.

richardw7360@my-deja.com wrote in message <8f945a$22m$1@nnrp1.deja.com>... >I'm not new to SAS however my experience has been mostly limited to >running SAS on a UNIX box in batch mode. But, I have before me a >project that requires some user interaction. Not knowing much about >developing applications/interactive programs in SAS and not having >access to the manuals (at the moment), I would like some feedback about >what tool(s) are best to use. It was suggested that I use SAS/FSP, but >how is this different from SAS/AF or SCL? Could someone explain FSP, >AF, and SCL to me? Is FSP the only option I have given the clients >platform, which is SAS version 6.09E on a mainframe? > >The following is a generic outline of what I need to accomplish: >1. Request name of file from user. >2. Get a list of "groups" that are in the file and present to user. >3. Allow user to select a specific group. >4. Go through a series of selection criteria for that group. >5. Sort and select based on the criteria within the group. >6. Output files and provide feedback > >Note: The end user does not know SAS. > >Any guidance on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance >for your help. > >Regards, >Richard Wherry > > >Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ >Before you buy.